This invention relates to a gaming machine. More particularly, the invention relates to a gaming machine and to an improvement to a game played on such a gaming machine.
Players who regularly play gaming machines quickly tire of particular games and therefore it is necessary for manufacturers of these machines to develop innovative game features which add interest to the games. In so doing, it is hoped to keep players amused and therefore willing to continue playing the games as well as to attract new players.
Also, with the growth that has occurred in the gaming machine market, there is intense competition between manufacturers to supply various existing and new venues. When selecting a supplier of gaming machines, the operator of a venue will often pay close attention to the popularity of various games with their patrons. Therefore gaming machine manufacturers are keen to devise games which are popular with the players as a mechanism for improving sales, retaining customers and attracting new customers.
According to the invention, there is provided a gaming machine having a display means and a game control means arranged to control images displayed on the display means, the game control means being arranged to play a game wherein one or more random events are caused to be displayed on the display means and, if a predefined winning event results, the machine awards a prize, the gaining machine being characterized in that, when a secondary game, following a base game, is completed, a special symbol appears at at least one symbol position of the secondary game, the special symbol replacing at least temporarily, an underlying symbol at said symbol position to contribute, if applicable, to a prize winning event.
In this specification, the term xe2x80x9csecondary gamexe2x80x9d is to be understood as one of a free game and a bonus game. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the secondary game is a free game forming part of a series of free games, the series of free games being triggered by a predetermined trigger condition in the base game.
The appearance of the special symbol may occur in each game of the series of free games. Preferably, the special symbol is a substitute symbol.
Hence, once a base game has been completed which triggers a free game or, preferably, a series of free games, each time a free game is completed, any prizes associated with displayed symbols of the free game are paid. Then, for each free game, the game control means may choose a position from all displayed symbol positions on the display means with the special symbol appearing at the chosen symbol position.
The special symbol may be in the form of an animated character. Preferably, the animated character moves across the display means to the chosen position to heighten the anticipation involved with the game. In a preferred game, the substitute symbol is a symbol of a dolphin. When the dolphin symbol arrives at the chosen position, it may xe2x80x9cdivexe2x80x9d into the underlying symbol.
Once the substitute symbol is in its substituting position, it may substitute for the underlying symbol and if it substitutes in any further prize winning combination, the relevant prize is paid.
The game control means may be operable, after payment of a prize, if any, in a first free game of the series of free games to play the following free game of the series by altering the symbols displayed on the display means and, once said following free game has been completed and prizes, if any, paid, the special symbol again appears at one of the symbol positions as chosen by the game control means. In the case of a spinning reel game, altering the symbols may involve one or more of the reels being respun.
The position chosen by the game control means at which the special symbol appears in one free game may be governed by the position at which it appeared in a preceding free game with the chosen position of the special symbol in a first game of the series being determined by the game control means. Instead the position chosen by the game control means at which the special symbol appears in each free game of the series of free games may be randomly determined by the game control means in each free game.
A win for a prize winning combination in the secondary game may be an integer multiple of a win for the same prize winning combination in the base game.